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VulnerabilityPublished Updated

CVE-2026-72005: Linux kernel · wifi: rt2x00: avoid full teardown before work setup in probe

Affects Linux kernelSource CVE Database V5

0

Not known to be exploited · CVSS 7.8 High · fixed in eb7474d0253bb2de4793e1d3ce833e8564bbe732 : patch Linux kernel soon.

Data as of 26 Oct 2026, 13:07 UTC

CVSS 3.1 base score
7.8High
How severe the flaw is on the 0–10 CVSS scale.
EPSS
0.1% chance of exploitation in 30 days – higher than 5% of CVEsExploit Prediction Scoring System: the likelihood attackers will use this flaw soon.
CISA SSVC
Exploitation
No evidence of active exploitation and no public proof of concept
Automatable
Attackers cannot reliably automate steps 1–4 of the kill chain
Technical impact
Total control over the software or total information disclosure

CISA SSVC assessment, 2026-10-16.

Patch
Available – fixed in eb7474d0253bb2de4793e1d3ce833e8564bbe732, 816559409e340acaa5c9d868291dab30d8c80263, 56994852d704535ea354a4627ca667b1b4fa0deb +5
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

Exploitation evidence

  1. Disclosed: evidence found.

    CVE published 15 Aug 2026

  2. Detectable: no evidence on record.

    No public nuclei template indexed

  3. Weaponised: no evidence on record.

    No public exploit code indexed in Metasploit or Exploit-DB

  4. Exploited in the wild: no evidence on record.

    Not in CISA KEV and no source reports exploitation

  5. Observed by OffSeq Mirage: no evidence on record.

    No attack traffic recorded by OffSeq Mirage sensors

A missing step is not evidence of safety. Sources: cve.org (opens in a new tab), the Metasploit, Exploit-DB and nuclei-templates index as of 26 Oct 2026.

What to do

Upgrade to a fixed release listed under Affected software.

Affected software

ProductAffectedFixed in
LinuxLinuxAffected
  • ≥ 0439f5367c8d8bb2ebaca8d7329f51f3148b2fb2, < eb7474d0253bb2de4793e1d3ce833e8564bbe732
Fixed in
  • eb7474d0253bb2de4793e1d3ce833e8564bbe732
LinuxLinuxAffected
  • ≥ 0439f5367c8d8bb2ebaca8d7329f51f3148b2fb2, < 816559409e340acaa5c9d868291dab30d8c80263
Fixed in
  • 816559409e340acaa5c9d868291dab30d8c80263
LinuxLinuxAffected
  • ≥ 0439f5367c8d8bb2ebaca8d7329f51f3148b2fb2, < 56994852d704535ea354a4627ca667b1b4fa0deb
Fixed in
  • 56994852d704535ea354a4627ca667b1b4fa0deb
LinuxLinuxAffected
  • ≥ 0439f5367c8d8bb2ebaca8d7329f51f3148b2fb2, < 536fb3d739d75a03cb318c0c6fe799425cfea501
Fixed in
  • 536fb3d739d75a03cb318c0c6fe799425cfea501
LinuxLinuxAffected
  • ≥ 0439f5367c8d8bb2ebaca8d7329f51f3148b2fb2, < 66bd9b1a72de7c2f5141b02d796048aafaed8a49
Fixed in
  • 66bd9b1a72de7c2f5141b02d796048aafaed8a49
LinuxLinuxAffected
  • ≥ 0439f5367c8d8bb2ebaca8d7329f51f3148b2fb2, < 59afe6148927395cf86f9429900e029a48b1d42b
Fixed in
  • 59afe6148927395cf86f9429900e029a48b1d42b

Description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: wifi: rt2x00: avoid full teardown before work setup in probe rt2x00lib_probe_dev() uses the full rt2x00lib_remove_dev() teardown for all probe failures. However, drv_data allocation and workqueue allocation can fail before intf_work, autowakeup_work and sleep_work have been initialized. Do not enter the full remove path until the probe has reached the point where those work items are set up. Return directly for drv_data allocation failure, and use a small early cleanup path for workqueue allocation failure. This issue was found by our static analysis tool and then confirmed by manual review of rt2x00lib_probe_dev() and rt2x00lib_remove_dev(). The early probe exits should not call a common teardown path that assumes the later work setup has already completed. A QEMU PoC forced alloc_ordered_workqueue() to fail before the work initializers are reached. The resulting fail path entered rt2x00lib_remove_dev(), and DEBUG_OBJECTS reported invalid work drains with rt2x00lib_probe_dev() and rt2x00lib_remove_dev() in the stack.

References

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